


Summertime Sweetness

by malhagie



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Boys Kissing, M/M, Pre-Canon, The Barns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:46:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25451860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/malhagie/pseuds/malhagie
Summary: That Sunday Gansey was waiting for Ronan and the rest of his family after church in the parking lot. He stood next to Niall’s BMW smiling widely. The shine of the sun off the car’s waxed hood matched the shine of Gansey’s perfect hair and the dazzle of his smile.....Before the events of the book Gansey comes to visit the Barns.
Relationships: Richard Gansey III/Ronan Lynch
Kudos: 15





	Summertime Sweetness

Ronan was dreaming.

Like always he was in the forest. It was night but it was hardly dark out. The moon was large in the sky. It was full, casting the forest in soft white light. Dappled black shadows of leaves danced across the ground. The stars were bright, the Milky Way visible in a glowing stripe across the sky. Around him fireflies blinked as they floated through the air.

Ronan was in a small clearing. He walked through it, the smooth tall grass rustling against his legs. He threw his arms above him to welcome the warm wind. It tossed his long black curls around his face. A flock of bats fluttered between the trees, chirping to each other. Ronan saw a deer in the distance, its pale antlers glowing in the moonlight as it walked between the trees.

He paused and held out his hand and a firefly landed on his finger. It was red and black with striped anteni. It’s rear blinked a soft yellow. Ronan was entranced by the insect. It slowly walked down his finger and over his palm, its tiny feet tickling him as it moved across his skin.

Ronan closed his eyes and let his focus fall into the sensation.

When Ronan opened his eyes he was in his bedroom. He was paralyzed, staring unmoving at the wall. He could still feel the firefly walking up his wrist. 

The firefly alighted and flew about the room, buzzing softly and occasionally blinking. It alighted upon the screen of the open window. It crawled through a hole in the screen and out of the house. It flew away, disappearing into the night.

Ronan’s fingers twitched.

That Sunday Gansey was waiting for Ronan and the rest of his family after church in the parking lot. He stood next to Nial’s BMW smiling widely. The shine of the sun off the car’s waxed hood matched the shine of Gansey’s perfect hair and the dazzle of his smile.

He was wearing a lime green polo shirt and pressed khaki shorts. Thankfully he was without his usual boat shoes, he had exchanged them for a pair of Timberlands in preparation for the mud of the barns.

He greeted Nail with a strong handshake and Aurora with a hug. He said hello to Delcan and Mathew before greeting Ronan with a fist-bump. Together the four boys packed into the back of the BMW, seat-belts forgotten. They went out to a local cafe and had a lunch of greasy hamburgers and thick milkshakes. Gansey talked of the crew team, Ronan talked about tennis, and Mathew talked about lacrosse. Declan didn’t add to the conversation. After lunch they drove to the Barns. With Nail at the wheel the trip was fast and exhilarating, filled with screams and giggles.

They arrived at the property. Ronan’s family went inside the house while Ronan took Gansey out to see some of the barns. A majority of the property was off limits to outsiders due to the dream things that populated them, but this did not stop Ronan from showing his friend the more mundane interests of the property.

Ronan led Gansey through the tall unmowed grass past the crisp patch that made up the backyard. They walked to the edge of the field where several buildings were clustered. Ronan walked up to the largest, a brown and white metal structure, and dragged open the rolling door. The barn housed several large pieces of unused farm equipment, tractors and harvesters.

Ronan climbed atop an antique tractor that had large metal wheels painted flaking yellow. Gansey walked along beside it, gently touching the exposed machinery in the side. Ronan grabbed the wheel, pushed on the pedals, and moved the levers that drove the tractor. Nial Lynch had taught Ronan how to drive his BMW in the back fields of the barns before he was 15. Ronan and his brothers had learned to drive the tractors before that.

Without the tractor running and driveable it was no fun, Ronan climbed down and came to stand in the middle of the dusty structure. Gansey meandered over to where Ronan was standing after taking a personal tour of the other pieces of machinery.

A rope swing was attached to the highest beam in the barn and it dangled in the center of the structure. A single rope held up the swing which was made of a wooden plank that had a hole drilled into the center.

Ronan grabbed the swing and motioned for Gansey to come to him. He threw his legs over the swing and backed up, creating tension in the rope and sitting down on the swing. Gansey walked over and watched Ronan’s strange crab walk. Ronan urged Ganset to him.

“Swing with me,” Ronan said softly.

Gansey nodded, smiling warmly. 

He stepped up to Ronan’s side and threw a leg over Ronan’s lap. He shimmied his thighs over Ronan’s until he was sitting centered on Ronan’s lap, his feet dangling in the air.

Ronan kicked off the ground and they were swinging through the air. They leaned back and forth to build momentum. Ronan kicked at the ground at awkward angles, sending them spinning between the pieces of farm equipment.

Gansey held onto Ronan, his hands on Ronan’ back. Ronan gripped the rope of the swing. He swung aggressively, throwing his momentum. They got high into the air and began to spin, getting dangerously close to the machinery. 

Ronan laughed loud and joyously.

Gansey held onto Ronan, pulling his body in tighter. This caused them to spin at a higher speed. Gansey hugged Ronan tight, tucking his face into Ronan’s neck. Sensing Gansey’s discomfort, Ronan stopped pumping the wind and let them slowly lose momentum. Ronan’s feet caught the ground, arresting the boys momentum and bringing them to a stop.

Ronan’s legs were starting to fall asleep from Gansey’s weight. They were both breathing heavy from the excitement. Despite Ronan’s discomfort he didn’t want to remove Gansey from his lap. He hugged Gansey back like Gansey was hugging him.

They breathed in each other’s air. They look deeply into each other’s eyes. Gansey reached up to gently cup Ronan’s face, his intense blue eyes framed by his wild dark curls.

Ronan leaned in. He gently and chastly pressed his lips to Gansey’s. Gansey’s lips were soft and slightly damp. It was a short kiss. Gansey and Ronan pulled apart. Both were blushing ferociously.

“Well,” Gansey said, pulling back, “That was um, uh, something alright, I - uh-”

“Gansey, shut up,” Ronan said playfully.

Ronan pushed Gansey off his lap and stood up from the swing, his feet half asleep.

“Let’s go inside and get a snack,” he said.

“Capital!” Gansey said with a large, warm smile.

The two boys raced back to the house, laughing and gallivanting. 

The next day Nial leaves for a business trip with the promise to return promptly. In a few days his oil slick BMW is back in the driveway.

Ronan’s memories of the day are fragmented and broken, but some still large and in sharp relief. Like pieces of a broken mirror.

He remembers the rain in the morning. He remembers thinking about how Mathew was still sleeping so he needed to be quiet. He remembers seeing the charcoal grey BMW through the windows. He remembers the excitement swelling in his chest at the thought of his father getting home early. 

He doesn't not remember walking out of the house and into the driveway. 

He would always remember his father’s bloody, caved in skull and the horrified expression on his face. He would always remember the smell of the blood. The look in his father’s lifeless eyes.

He remembered little else of that day. All he was aware of was that his father was dead. He didn’t remember calling for help. He didn’t remember what happened when Declan and his Mother learned of what happened. He didn’t remember what they told Mathew. His entire day was gone.

All he could remember was his father’s smashed face.

It's what he thought about that night. He lay in Gansey’s bed in the Aglionly dorm, unable to sleep. Next to him Gansey lay still, but he was not sleeping. He was consumed with worry and would not be sleeping either. 


End file.
